As Firefly spoke, she walked ahead. Caelus did not know why she had suddenly changed from a guide into the host, but he obediently followed her toward the famous park.
After arriving at Aideen Park, Caelus immediately spotted the enormous musical notes and lines floating in midair. The background music here was no longer an ode to harmony, but something light and cheerful.
Following Firefly to the music plaza surrounded by notes, they could see people already performing there. Even stranger, the instruments played themselves, while the musicians looked more like animal trainers.
"In Penacony's dreamscape, many objects and facilities have been affected by Memory Matter and gained self-awareness. The Family has tamed them, turning them into Dream Ensemble performers that serve the guests."
"However, these little things can also be affected by dangerous emotions or memories and turn into nightmare troupes that wreak havoc everywhere. If you run into one by accident, be sure to ask nearby security personnel for help."
Firefly continued carrying out her duty, introducing the strange things before them. Caelus realized none of this had been written in the Dream Manual. It was probably something only locals knew. After all, how could monsters that harmed people possibly exist in a perfect dream? If one really encountered them, it could only be called bad luck.
"Now that we're here, we have to try some SoulGlad. Let's head to the bar."
Firefly's gaze suddenly turned unfriendly. She glanced at somewhere behind Caelus, then turned and walked toward the drink counter. Caelus knew she was not targeting him; something had happened.
"What is it?"
Caelus followed Firefly to order at the bar. Only while the attendant was making their soda did he cautiously ask.
"Someone is following you. Male, tall and strongly built, with steady footsteps. His weapon looks like a dagger."
Firefly spoke with a serious expression. Caelus froze for a moment and carefully thought over the men he knew. Welt definitely counted as tall and strongly built, but he could not think of anyone else.
"He's here."
Firefly did not continue analyzing the matter. Instead, she looked behind Caelus and spoke. At least the man had appeared openly, making him somewhat less dangerous. Still, Firefly tucked her right hand behind her back. If anyone hurt Caelus in front of her, she would stop them even if it exposed her identity.
The Little Stellaron Moved. I'm Not Playing Anymore
"Yo, my dear friend. I never expected to see you here."
Dark blue hair, a tall build, and a frivolous smile on his face, as though he was eyeing the Credits in your wallet at every moment—such a man appeared before Caelus.
"You're Sam... something?"
Caelus looked at the man in surprise. He had never been good at remembering men. If a man could make Caelus remember even one character of his name, he ought to burn incense and thank his ancestors for their blessing.
"Sampo! I'm heartbroken. You actually forgot your friend, old Sampo."
The smile on Sampo's face immediately collapsed. He pointed at his own face and spoke in great sorrow.
"Oh, Sampo. What do you think you should call me?"
A kind smile appeared on Caelus's face as he asked a deadly question. If this man was really Sampo, he would devour all of Firefly's Oak Cake Roll on the spot!
"Of course, my dear friend, Caelus."
Sampo answered without hesitation. The smile on Caelus's face deepened, and he stepped forward to hug the tall man.
"Ah, yes, yes, good friends."
Caelus patted Sampo's back. When they separated, he even grabbed Sampo's butt. Sampo's expression clearly froze as he looked at Caelus with utter disbelief, as though saying, I never imagined you were gay!
"So you two know each other. What a false alarm."
Seeing Caelus and Sampo acting so intimately, Firefly put away the thing in her right hand and smiled at them.
"Good friend, meeting again is fate. I'll take you to play some adult games."
Sampo enthusiastically invited Caelus, carrying the excitement of meeting an old friend far from home. Caelus nodded and readily agreed.
"Adult games? Do you mean the prize machines?"
Firefly asked in confusion. She had lived here for quite some time, but she had never heard of any adult games.
"No, no, those are children's toys. Come this way."
Sampo gave a mysterious smile. Taking over as their guide, he led Caelus and Firefly out of the park toward a shop with a bar sign hanging outside.
Caelus and Firefly watched from behind while Sampo spoke with the bouncer outside the bar for a while. Since it was a private bar, entering required passing the bouncer's inspection, and Sampo had clearly failed.
"Sigh, it seems old Sampo's reputation still isn't enough."
Sampo returned with his head hanging low. Firefly looked rather speechless. This guy had confidently stolen her job, and this was the result?
"But do you think that's the end of it? Look over there."
Sampo suddenly perked up again and pointed at a television set placed on a street corner not far away. The television was so old it looked like an antique from the mummy era, yet it existed in this beautiful dream for a reason. Naturally, it had a special use.
"Friend, go press that switch."
Sampo pointed to the large red button beside the television. Caelus glanced at Firefly beside him. She shook her head slightly, though he did not know whether she meant she did not know what it was or that he should not take the risk.
Caelus gave Firefly a reassuring look, then walked over to the television and raised his hand to touch the switch. In that instant, he felt his body grow weightless, and his viewpoint suddenly dropped much lower. The television he had once looked down upon now had to be viewed from below. Looking down at his hands and feet, he discovered that he had become a thirty-centimeter-tall, three-headed chibi monkey.
The monkey was still dressed quite sharply, in a black suit and black hat, looking rather cool. Caelus was astonished. He tried to speak, but all he could make was a cool grunt.
"Caelus, you? You're Caelus?"
Firefly immediately cried out at the sight. She came before Caelus, first touching the television with her hand, then lowering her head to look at the monkey on the ground. Though this was a dreamscape, she truly had not known such a thing existed.
"Hmm!"
Caelus could not speak at all now and could only answer Firefly with that sound. Because of their height difference, he had to look up to see Firefly—and when he did, he saw quite a lot.
"Hmm!"
Caelus raised his tiny hand, gave Firefly a thumbs-up, and spoke. Firefly froze, then looked down at her skirt. Her cheeks instantly turned red as she covered her skirt and backed away several steps. One hand covered the front hem while the other reached behind her to cover the back. She displayed a maiden's shyness to the fullest.
"Isn't this an adult game?"
Sampo grinned lecherously at Caelus. Caelus happily nodded, gave him a thumbs-up as well, then walked to the switch beside the television and touched it. His body immediately returned to normal.
"This is an immersive game. You swap places with a character called Hanu Brothers, then enter a stage and defeat the Stone Boss. You can only use items from inside the game. Exciting, right?"
Sampo explained the game to Caelus. Caelus thought about it and found it rather ordinary. Hadn't the games he played with Silver Wolf been similar? They had all been immersive experiences.
"I see. But I'm already past the age for that sort of thing."
Caelus had no intention of playing as Hanu Brothers. He was more concerned about Firefly beside him, so he walked over and waved a hand in front of her eyes.
Firefly raised her face and looked at Caelus with a mixture of embarrassment, anger, and grievance. She had not worn a dress just to give Caelus such a benefit. Though she did not truly reject him seeing it, she would not have come into contact with him like this if she really disliked him.
"Light green suits you very well, Firefly."
Caelus spoke with a grin. Judging from his expression, he looked like someone who had found money while walking down the street. He could not have been more delighted.
"Y-you're still talking about it."
Firefly raised her hand as if to hit Caelus, but she still did not bring it down. She merely continued staring at him with a puffed-up, angry expression.
"Of course I have to say something after seeing it. Otherwise, I can't just pretend nothing happened. Wouldn't that be deceiving myself? So I wanted to compliment you. That way, it won't be so awkward."
Caelus changed his approach and spoke to Firefly seriously. He was showing that he intended to face the matter earnestly rather than brush it aside and pretend he knew nothing.
"What kind of compliment is that?"
Seeing how sincere Caelus was, Firefly felt that he had a point. If he had not offered that compliment, their interactions would have gone silent for quite some time. Bringing it up openly was not actually that awkward.
"Blame old Sampo. It was his idea."
Caelus struck while the iron was hot. Firefly thought about it and felt that was absolutely right. Caelus was actually a victim too, so she turned an unfriendly gaze toward Sampo. It was all because this guy had talked about adult games. He really deserved it.
"No, bro!"
Sampo held his head in both hands and quickly put on a mask of pain. He had come up with the idea, Caelus had benefited from it, and in the end he was the one taking the blame and being disliked. This deal was a complete loss. Who could have imagined Caelus would sell him out so effortlessly? Was that something a person ought to do?
PS: Please bookmark, recommend, and vote with monthly tickets.
There's Such a Service?
"Um, let's go take a look at the dreamscape shop instead."
Firefly did not blame Sampo too harshly for what he had done, perhaps out of consideration for Caelus. She changed the subject, intending to resume her role as guide.
"Okay."
Caelus nodded. The two walked forward side by side. An unfathomable look appeared in Sampo's eyes as he followed them.
Returning to an old haunt, Caelus had not expected to run into Doctor Edward again so soon. The fellow had a bad temper, but he truly had real skill. The faint fragrance on Robin in that dreamscape still lingered vividly in his memory.
"Hello, Doctor Edward."
Firefly greeted him politely, but the large eyeball, which was always polite to people every day, unexpectedly gave her a disdainful look now, as though it had seen something dirty.
"Welcome. Today's guest quota has already been used up. Please come again another time."
Doctor Edward spoke flatly. Firefly was stunned again. It was her first time seeing Doctor Edward refuse customers at the door.
"Don't say that, Doctor Edward. I came to share my dream bubble."
Sampo did not know what Doctor Edward was up to either. He stepped forward and spread his hands. Resting in them were some strange materials Caelus could not identify, probably materials unique to the dreamscape.
"What does sharing a dream bubble mean?"
Caelus asked in confusion.
"It means paying a price to turn a dream I had into a dream bubble, allowing it to be experienced repeatedly. You've had that feeling too, right? When you wake up in the morning and still want more of what you experienced in a dream, wanting to relive it several times."
Sampo introduced Doctor Edward's true function. It was Caelus's first time hearing of this, another thing absent from the Dream Manual.
"You offer a service like that here?"
Caelus asked Doctor Edward with great interest. Didn't that mean that as long as he extracted the dream where he and Robin had dreamed together, he could kiss the little songbird anytime, anywhere in the future? At the thought, Caelus even began licking his lips.
"No."
Doctor Edward once again gave him a look as if he had seen something filthy and immediately denied it.
"You could offer it."
"I truly cannot."
Doctor Edward stubbornly refused to budge. What a joke. If Sunday found out he had made that kind of dream bubble for Caelus, being skinned alive would be the least of his problems. He would probably be sent to the most terrifying hell to be tortured to death.
"Tch. Firefly, don't you think this lousy shop is bullying customers because it's too big? Let's go. We'll leave it a bad review when we get back."
Caelus clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction and prepared to leave with Firefly. At his words, Doctor Edward's entire eyeball bulged out, bloodshot veins covering the area around it. It had never seen such a bastard of a Nameless.
"Wait, my good friend, don't be angry. I still want you to experience my dream bubble."
Seeing Caelus preparing to leave, Sampo grew somewhat anxious. He had not given Caelus enough hints yet. How could he let him leave just like that?
"What's so worth experiencing about your lousy dream? If I have the time, why would I not cuddle up with beautiful girls instead? Why would I play with a rough guy like you?"
Caelus spoke irritably. He had no interest at all in experiencing Sampo's dream. When he mentioned beautiful girls, the corner of Firefly's lips curled up slightly, revealing a happy expression.
"This... what if I guarantee there'll be beautiful girls in the dream?"
Sampo felt disgusted with himself too. No wonder Doctor Edward disliked Caelus so much. But there was no helping it; for what came later, he could only grit his teeth and keep persuading him.
"What kind of beautiful girl? Let me tell you, I'm very picky."
"The kind with twin tails, not very tall, but lively, with big eyes. Pretty, and loves to smile."
Sampo thought for a moment and simply described an image. Honestly, there were not tens of billions of beautiful girls like that in the galaxy—there were at least billions. It was not tempting at all.
"You know someone like that? It isn't a wet dream, is it?" Caelus asked skeptically.
"Aha, you'll understand after experiencing it."
Sampo coaxed him patiently. In the end, Caelus could not outstubborn him and reluctantly accepted Sampo's dream bubble.
The sensation of dreaming was the same as before. He drowsily entered a strange world, set in Boulder Town in Belobog's Underworld. Yet none of the characters were human. They were all trash cans with arms and legs.
Caelus usually enjoyed rummaging through trash cans for food, but he had not reached the point of liking them themselves. Thus, the dream became increasingly absurd. He wandered around, encountered quite a few trash cans, and watched the story unfold as an observer. In the end, he was supposed to challenge the King of Trash alone as a hero.
It was a very conventional plot, but Caelus sensed something strange. Sampo could not possibly have dreamed something like this. It was obviously something he had woven for Caelus to see. So Caelus used his own power to break free of the dreamscape and did not fight the King of Trash.
"Sampo, explain yourself."
Caelus spoke to Sampo.
"Ah, what a pity. I wanted to see how you'd deal with the King of Trash."
Sampo spread his hands regretfully. Caelus's lack of cooperation left him rather bored, and the fun he should have had was gone.
"What a shame, what a shame! Such a meaningful dream, yet you missed the ending because your heart wasn't in it."
"Is the ending important? It's only a story. What matters is you, who used the dream to convey your purpose."
Caelus smiled at Sampo. Sampo's expression became slightly puzzled. He felt as though his identity had been exposed, but he did not continue following Caelus's words.
"You're searching for the truth behind the beautiful dream, aren't you? Don't be fooled by the scenery, dear. Comfortable environments create blind people."
Sampo reminded him. Caelus looked at him doubtfully. This man seemed to have come with good intentions, as if he were warning him. Caelus did not care about the truth behind the beautiful dream. At most, the recent truth was that the Family had impure motives, but what did that have to do with him? There were so many tall people here; perhaps even Emanators had slipped in. If the sky fell, was he supposed to hold it up?
"Don't you think this dream bubble resembles Penacony today, hmm?"
Sampo continued reminding him, meaning for Caelus to reconsider that dream starring trash cans. Caelus understood now. Those trash cans were actually playing the important figures of Penacony, while the King of Trash at the end was the mastermind behind everything.
Before you continue